Visitors with a vengeance
by kingsandqueens10
Summary: Amelie holds another ball, but with more visitors than expected in town how will Morganville hold out? Will bad memories come back to haunt the vamps?
1. Chapter 1

**Dedicated to Bonniewitch and Discotimelord, thankyou!**

Claire fidgeted nervously as she sat in the huge, plush chair in Amelie's office, facing the Founder herself. She had been called out of advanced physics- a subject which would have been a lot more interesting if Myrnin was the one teaching her instead of boring old Mr Whitehead, or Mr Shitehead, as some of the more rebellious students liked to call him. Her instructions were to go to room 57 in the science block, urgently. The only time urgently was used in Morganville was when something bad had happened, and that was very often.

As soon as Claire had opened the door of room 57, she knew it was a portal, and, like the very first day she met her crazy boss, it led straight to An ancient room. Only instead of this one containing stacks of never ending books, It contained a dark oak desk, three ancient, padded chairs (which looked a lot more comfortable than they felt) and three neat bookcases, filled alphabetically with books of all sorts of different languages.

And of course it contained the Founder.

Amelie was wearing a pale blue tailored skirt suit, fastened neatly with a button at her waist and two rows of buttons parallel to each other down the front quarter of her skirt. She was perched on the third seat in the room, tucked neatly behind her desk with her hands folded delicately on her lap. Her cold grey eyes bore into Claire with an intensity that made her nervous. No matter how pretty Amelie was, she was still the scariest woman Claire knew.

Slowly, Amelie's pink tinted lips grew into the slightest smile, which took an edge off her harsh expression and sent relief flowing through Claire like lava. Amelie proceeded to smile primly at Claire, her glossy blonde hair curled around her face in immaculate, elegant waves, causing her to look more beautiful Claire had ever seen her.

"As you know Claire, it is not often that I remove you from your studies, however I have a…proposition, to ask of you" Amelie finally said.

Claire's alarm rate rocketed up, dragging it from 'oh my god what am I doing here?' to 'oh my god this is probably going to kill me', because most things in Morganville would kill you. Including the residents.

She carried on calmly, not noticing Claire's fluttering heartbeat, or being polite enough to pretend not to notice. "I don't know if you've heard, but I am holding a formal ball this weekend, to which you are invited." She paused for a second and her glacier eyes twitched, almost like she was restraining herself from rolling them. "Now, as you well know, Myrnin's fashion sense is…unique. However, if I am to impress the new visitors of Morganville, his choice in clothing would have to be controlled."

Claire finally heard the penny drop. "You want me, to choose him some clothes?" Claire imagined how that would go over with her boss, and she decided that it definitely wouldn't go well, she could hardly get him to open a portal, never mind change his wardrobe.

Amelie smiled politely, obviously realising the struggle Claire would have attempting to dress Myrnin. "Of course this task wouldn't be accomplished without pay."

Claire thought about it for a moment. Why would Amelie pay her for finding Myrnin a suit?

Because then she wouldn't have to struggle with him, instead she had dumped it on Claire, so now its Claire's problem.

Great.

Claire flipped through the ways in which she would actually be able to get Myrnin to agree to this; until she remembered what Amelie had first said.

"Wait, what visitors?" She was sure that by now Amelie would have realised that visitors = bad, however the complete lack of panic in Amelie's graceful posture told Claire that this mustn't be the type of visitor she was meant to worry about.

A strange expression crossed over Amelie's delicate features, an expression that Claire couldn't read but she was almost sure it seemed positive. Almost.

"My sister is coming to Morganville."

"Naomi? But she's already here."

"Naomi is only a blood sister, bound to me by the link between her and my father after he changed her. No, this sister is my real family."

Woah. Claire had no idea Amelie even had any family, not after Myrnin finally got rid of Bishop. Not that Claire even knew much about Amelie, she didn't even know much about Myrnin and he's the most human out of all the vampires, well, emotionally at least. Probably. And of course with Michael as an exception.

Amelie interrupted Claire's train of thought as she carried on answering her question. "My sister has been…adventuring a lot, exploring places that intrigued her. She heard about Morganville through other vampires she had come across and has decided to at least visit, possibly even have a permanent residence. You see, to a vampire with an eternity ahead of them, the world can be a boring place, even the most persistent of vampires lose interest in travelling. Each corner of the world soon becomes familiar and each decade becomes a chore."

Amelie glided out of her plush chair, ambling over to her organised bookcases and scanning through the millions of volumes with eyes that flickered with supernatural speed. At first Claire thought she was looking for something, but after a few minutes of flitting eyes and awkward silence, she realised that Amelie was either doing it to pass the time, or re-living an old memory, lost in her billions of encounters and adventures.

Claire cleared her throat quietly, knowing full well that Amelie would hear her, before attempting to return back to the topic of Myrnin's fashion sense, after all, Claire wasn't exactly the fashion guru of Morganville and she had no idea what she was looking for.

"Erm, wouldn't you have been better choosing Eve to do this type of thing? She's more of the clothes type. I'm more of the science type, and I really have no idea what you're looking for."

Amelie turned to face her, her elegant hair shimmering in the dull light of her office. As usual, for vampires, no natural sunlight shone into the room, so it was lit entirely by one small tiffany lamp, which cast the darkest of shadows in the corners and fluttered eerily in her cool, grey eyes.

"Of course I took that into account, however I decided that out of your friends and the people I am fond of, you dress the most…subtly. Myrnin's clothes definitely need more than a hint of subtlety. But, by all means, if you wish for Eve to accompany you in this task she is more than welcome to, just don't let her tastes get in the way."

Which was a polite way of saying, don't make Eve turn him into a raging goth. Claire tried to imagine her half insane boss wearing the male equivalent of Eve's corsets and black tutus and had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Although Myrnin's style as it was wasn't far off Eve's anyway.

"And as for what I am asking you to look for, a suit."

"Just a suit?"

Amelie nodded, "preferably black, and plain. I know how Myrnin likes his patterns."

Claire nodded, feeling utterly lost and deciding that Eve had no choice in being dragged along to help choose Myrnin's suit. Maybe she could learn a thing or two from her while she was there. Or maybe Myrnin would be complaining too loud for her to hear anything Eve would be saying.

Claire hoped to God it wouldn't be the latter.

**Hope you like it! Please read and review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Enjoy!**

After returning home with a bag full of books and a new burden to carry- the finding of Myrnin's suit- Claire slumped down on the Glass House sofa, sliding her heavy bag to the ground, flopping her head back and closing her eyes, relieved to hear the petty banter coming from Eve and Shane in the kitchen.

Clattering pans and shrieked cussing floated through the doors to the kitchen, lightening Claire's mood and finally making the day feel a little more normal.

Soft lips suddenly pressed against hers gently, causing her to open her tired eyes to a smiling Shane, gazing down at her from behind the sofa. His hair was dishevelled and shaggy, his skin warm and tanned and his deep, brown eyes were boring into hers softly.

"Hey," Claire said, smiling back at him in pure happiness.

"Hey, why so glum? You been missing me too much?" He replied, winking and kissing her again, this time lingering on Claire's lips as his hands stroked through her hair.

"I'm not glum, I'm just…stressed," she replied, tugging on Shane's arm and pulling him round to plop on the cushions next to her. He was wearing baggy blue jeans and a black t-shirt, his hair was still damp at the ends from a shower after work. Barbeque may be gorgeous, but constantly smelling like food wasn't Shane's best feature. Definitely not.

"That's strange, nobody ever gets stressed in Morganville." The sarcasm was evident in his voice.

Claire laughed lightly, snuggling into his warm body and hugging him close. She had forgotten how big he was, how solid and warm. She nuzzled into his neck, smelling his smell which managed to be both sweet and musky as she let out a long sigh.

"What's wrong Claire?" Claire felt his deep voice vibrate through her, and almost dreaded telling him, knowing what his reaction would be.

"…I…Amelie asked me to do her a favour," Claire said, trying to work her way round the subject so that he wouldn't get too annoyed. She glanced up at him and noticed that he was staring back at her, his chocolate eyes boring into hers, willing her to carry on. "Involving Myrnin. And his clothes."

As soon as she mentioned Myrnin's name she felt Shane's muscles go tense. She peeked back up at him and saw that his jaw was clenched, the softness in his eyes hardened. He had been paranoid about her relationship with Myrnin lately, admitting most of his fears while he was hooked up with the bite club. Claire tried her best to forget about how angry he got, about what he said, so she tried to change the subject.

"She was telling me about the ball on Saturday. She said I was invited, I'm guessing that involves you too…"

Shane gave her a sideways glance, raising his eyebrows, suddenly back to the same Shane Claire knew and loved. "If Ice Queen expects me to be wearing a tux she's got another thing coming."

Claire chuckled and snuggled back into his side, nervously planning ways to persuade Myrnin into a plain suit. She didn't even know where to get one, let alone what it needs to look like or how to get him into it. She felt the weight of the wad of money Amelie had given her in her pocket. Just how expensive did Amelie expect this suit to be?

"Wait, what do you want me to do?"

Eve clomped around her bedroom, dragging her fingers through her ebony hair and pulling it up to a ponytail. Claire plopped down onto her bed and grabbed a hairbrush from eve's dresser, combing through her bedhead as Eve buckled up her knee high boots.

"I just need your help. You'll like it," probably.

Eve turned to face Claire, her racoon makeup making her eyes impossibly wide and…slightly creepy. "If I'm going to agree to this you might need to spill a few more details, this is Morganville; for all I know you might be asking me to go on a vamp killing spree-which would be fun, but I'd get my shirt all bloody. It's my favourite, I'm not willing to sacrifice it for you just yet." She stroked the front of her black skull print shirt lovingly, straightening out her striped miniskirt and plucking at her red tights. "Spill."

"It involves a makeover. Kind of."

As soon as Claire said it Eve's eyes lit up and she clapped her hands together excitedly. "OMG YES! I've always wanted to give you a makeover! So what do you want? Full on Eve makeup or what?" She started fluffing up Claire's hair, pulling it over from one side to the other, Claire had to grasp her frantic wrists to stop her.

"Not me! Myrnin!"

Eve stopped and just looked confused, her makeup emphasising the expression. "Myrnin?"

"Amelie asked if I could find him a suit for the ball on Saturday and you have a much better fashion sense than me," Claire said, complementing her as an attempt to persuade her to help. She held her breath, almost thinking Eve would disagree, Myrnin wasn't exactly a close friend to her and she was more than a little creeped out by him but Claire knew she liked some of his clothes and he had saved her more times than she probably even knows.

Just as Claire almost lost all hope Eve suddenly beamed at her and continued to clap her hands. "When do we start? I'm thinking' we don't just stop at a suit, I have so many possibilities of haircuts I can make him look super hot!" With that she bounded up and ran downstairs, grabbing a bag of what looked like hair products on her way out the door, Claire didn't even have time to explain the extremely slim chance she had of Myrnin letting her cut his hair before she was yelling from the ground floor.

"Yo CB! I could really do with your skills right now! A portal would get this done much quicker!"

Claire sighed and got up, heaving her backpack, containing the money Amelie gave her and some chocolate donuts (for Myrnin as a little bribe), onto her shoulder and plodding downstairs. She noticed Eve stood facing the wall, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Getting old…" Claire could see the unexpected excitement in Eve as she made her way down the stairs, purposefully slowly before joining Eve at the wall. She concentrated on the chaos of the lab before a swirl of colour made it's way to the blank wall.

Eve bounded into the lab, leaving Claire to follow her in, silently dreading the next few hours of her life.

**Please read and review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for all the reviews!**

"Hey Crazy Dude! You here?" Eve shouted, dumping her hair products on an empty lab table and searching around the room.

"Where else would I be?" Claire spun round to see Myrnin behind her, closing the huge iron door to the portal, "I don't remember inviting you to my humble abode miss Rosser. No matter, two's company, three's a crowd. What can I do for you?"

Myrnin looked clean today, his sharp features pale and strangely perfect. He was wearing a white shirt with tight black pants and a flapping trench coat, relatively normal, for Myrnin anyway. As always his favourite bunny slippers were flopping comically on his feet, their ears swaying as he ambled forward casually, hands clasped behind his back.

"Amelie sent us," Claire said.

Myrnin raised his eyebrows sceptically, "either that is a good thing or a terrible thing. Most likely the latter. Why did she send you?"

Eve gleefully ignored his question, fumbling through her bag of goodies and coming out with some scissors and a comb. "Hell, it might be terrible for you but it's a treat for me," she held the equipment in front of her whilst she advanced on Myrnin, "don't worry, this wont hurt a bit. Unless you're difficult, just a warning." She smiled sweetly as Myrnin's eyes widened and he stared at her looking slightly scared.

"…What _are _you talking about?" Myrnin asked, frowning. But Claire could tell he already knew what she was talking about as he started backing away, fending off a now creepy looking Eve.

"Amelie sent us to neaten you up a bit, since you look like a member of a medieval Addam's family. Now hold still, it'll only take a minute." Eve tried to pounce on him but he dodged with vampire speed and put the entire lab between them.

"Amelie sent you to _cut my hair. _How rude. I think I should have at least had _some_ say in this!"

"…Well, she didn't _exactly _send us to cut your hair. Eve just decided that she could make you look hot if she cut your hair, I don't think you're going to be able to stop her, now that her minds set," Claire said grimly as she watched Eve edge towards Myrnin, flashing a crimson smile as Claire spoke.

"Hot?" Myrnin asked, "I presume that's a good thing?"

"It means good-looking," Claire didn't quite want to use sexy to describe it, knowing Myrnin he would probably get the wrong idea or get cocky. Although, judging by the dimpled smile edging its way onto his face, it looked like he had gotten cocky anyway with good-looking.

"I don't need a haircut, I'm already good-looking" At that point Eve lunged forward, catching him off guard and managing to grab the back of his coat, pulling him off balance. He stumbled sideways and almost fell over, but managed to keep on his feet and attempt to escape from Eve. She was still gripping the back of his coat and as Myrnin pulled away a loud rip rang through the lab.

Myrnin looked behind him, alarmed and his eyes widened as he stared at the gaping hole in the back of his coat. "That happened to be my favourite trench coat! You ruined it!" He glared at Eve, thankfully no shade of red was invading his deep brown eyes.

Claire sighed and rolled her eyes at the typical Myrnin drama, "Myrnin, you have more trench coats, stop being such a drama queen!"

"But this was my _favourite," _he complained, stripping off the coat and examining the damage. He kept glaring at Eve through his eyelashes as he fingered the fraying material and mumbled to himself grudgingly in a different language. "You are definitely not touching my hair now, evil child."

Claire sighed once again and tried plan two: bribery.

She pulled out the box of donuts from her backpack and opened the lid. Myrnin head snapped up as he smelled the sweet sugary chocolate and his eyes lit up like a little boy at the toy shop. "Donut?" Claire asked, holding the box out to him. He reached out to get one and Claire pulled the box back, wagging her finger at him and raising her eyebrows, "Cooperate. _Then_ you get one."

Myrnin's face dropped and he grimaced at her. "Fine. But under no circumstances will I leave you alive if you cut off all of my hair," he threatened, pointing an elegant finger at a grinning Eve, who was practically bounding up and down with excitement. He stalked over to where Eve was pulling out a chair, grumbling under his breath, "this is ridiculous. Stupid, pointless. "

He sat down unwillingly and crossed his arms over his chest, pouting. Eve draped the ruined coat over his shoulders as a cover and gave Claire the comb to brush through his black curls. His hair was strangely soft, her comb glided though it effortlessly, his curls bounding back to life as soon as the comb reached the end of each strand.

Myrnin sat groaning about how he didn't need a haircut, cursing and protesting in a constant stream of endlessly inventive complaints. "Really, this is extremely uncalled for. I look perfectly fine, this is absurd, such a waste of time. I could be examining my blood or inventing a time machine if it wasn't for you meddling with my hair for no reason. This is just ludicrous…"

Eve heaved out a breath and searched around the lab while Claire tamed Myrnin's dishevelled ringlets and tried to drown out his disgruntled voice. By the time Eve found the remote for the extremely out of place tv (a suddenly modern plasma screen wedged between two ancient bookcases on the wall) Claire had moved onto spraying his hair with a water spray - under Eve's orders- and trying to avoid Myrnin's hands batting her away as he grew more annoyed.

Eve clicked the button for the tv and a booming music channel filled the lab with electronic beats and a catchy bass line. Claire didn't particularly like the song but she was relieved when it managed to muffle Myrnin's fussing enough for her to think, but instead of shutting him up it just caused a string of new complaints about how obscene music was nowadays. "This isn't music, this is distasteful noise. Who would ever think this was worth spending time creating?"

Claire glanced to Eve, who was miming strangling him from behind, but instead of wrapping her hands around his throat she grabbed a donut and shoved it in his mouth, cutting off his muttering. "I swear, you are the most annoying man I have ever known," Eve said, pulling his hair down and shearing off a good few inches.

"Rude," Myrnin mumbled around the massive mouthful of donut in his mouth that he was attempting to chew, thankfully it shut him up for a little while.

"Don't worry, by the time your hair and suit are sorted no-one's going to care that you're uber annoying," Eve patted his shoulder, brushing his hair over his face and around his ears. He shook it away, frowning.

"Suit?"

"Ugh shit," Eve sighed, "you're going to be awkward about that too aren't you? I thought old people were supposed to be polite."

Just as Myrnin started even more complaints Claire heard a tinkling noise coming from her bag discarded on the table. She left them arguing as she walked over and unzipped the front pocket, checking the screen for a name. She had a text from Amelie.

_Claire, I realise you may be busy with Myrnin at the moment, however, I have something I must give you. Meet in my room in the Glass House as soon as you are able. A_

Claire imagined Amelie sat primly in the secret room of the Glass House, waiting impatiently for Claire to turn up. _What does she need to give me? _Claire thought, intrigued. She glanced over to Myrnin and Eve bantering as she pulled his hair about and snipped it speedily, even if she worked at that speed the whole time, Claire would still have to leave before they had the suit sorted.

She sighed and felt a pang of guilt in the back of her stomach as she realised that she would have to leave Eve to deal with Myrnin for the rest of the day.

"Eve," Both their heads turned to look at her as Eve carried on chopping at Myrnin hair, "Amelie has asked me to meet her, I'm so sorry but I have to go. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Eve stared for a second then shrugged and got back to styling Myrnin's hair, "Don't worry CB, it'll be fine. We'll have fun, wont we Myrnin?"

Myrnin's expression was the complete opposite of what fun should look like. "Oh joy," he grumbled flatly as Claire grabbed her bag and opened the portal back to the Glass House. By the time she stepped through the doorway they were arguing again and Claire was glad She wasn't in Eve's place right now.

She loved Myrnin like a brother but when he wanted he could be the most annoying person in the world.

**Please R&R! I hope you liked it xxx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Dedicated to Bonniewitch and Discotimelord ****J Enjoy everyone!**

Claire shoved her backpack in the corner of the Glass House hallway and made her way upstairs. She could feel that someone was here, the house had taken on a cooler temperature, adjusting itself to the intruder.

She trekked up the stairs one at a time, unable to leap three at once like Shane, and reached the top just as the secret door to the room opened by itself. Claire guessed that Amelie was already up there and began the climb the extra steps to the third floor. The room looked just how Shane and her had left it the other night after they stayed there, the cushions flat and lumpy, the crimson blankets strewn on the floor, Claire's jacket in the corner.

A rosy blush crept over Claire's cheeks when she caught sight of Amelie sat on one of the sofas, brushing her cream skirt over her legs fussily. She looked just as clean and royal as she had the day before, only this time her blond hair was curled up in a complicated updo, way too formal for an everyday style.

Claire quickly picked up her jacket and shrugged it on, grabbing the blanket off the floor and laying it over the spare sofa as she sat down and attempted a polite smile to Amelie.

"Hello Claire, how are you?" She said after a minute, obviously not at all interested in the answer, just eager to fill the silence with small talk.

"I'm fine thanks. How are you?" Claire tried to make herself sound more posh than she felt, with a crumpled jacket on and some plain jeans, compared to Amelie in her cream suit.

Amelie smiled ever so slightly, "I highly doubt fine is the word one would use after dealing with Myrnin. He has been difficult I presume," she said, ignoring Claire's question and instead asking her own.

"Just a bit." Claire fiddled with her fingers as Amelie smiled at her, a strangely amused expression which was unusual for Amelie. "Um…you called?"

Amelie nodded, a slight gesture, and pulled a box out of the shadows. Claire squinted into the darkness and saw a black suited man stood to the side. Of course, Amelie wouldn't go anywhere without her guards. Claire waved vaguely at the man, who stood staring ahead, no expression. Well at least she tried.

Claire's attention was drawn back to the Founder as she stood up gracefully and moved over to perch on the edge of the sofa Claire was sat on. She placed the large white box on the cushions next to her and gestured to Claire.

"What is it?" she asked, shuffling closer to the box and fiddling with the blue lace ribbon holding the box closed.

Amelie didn't say anything, instead she tugged on the end of the lace bow and let it slither to the floor as she pulled open the lid. There, under a layer of white tissue paper was a dusty rose pink dress. It had black lace covering parts of it with black sequined patterns snaking all over. The cut was low on the bodice and the straps were an inch or so thick, yet the black lace covered the shoulders and ran in twirls over the bodice. It was beautiful and Claire couldn't stop staring at it.

"It is the dress you are to wear to the ball."

All Claire could do was gape at the material in front of her, disbelieving that it actually belonged to her.

"I also have outfits for Eve, Michael and Shane, they are in each of their rooms and I will be expecting them to wear them on Saturday."

Claire just knew how that was going to go over with Shane, but right now she didn't care, all she cared about was the dress.

"Yo I'm back!"

Claire heard Eve's call as she escaped down the stairs of the secret room, placing her new dress on her bed as she made her way to Eve, who was clattering pans in the kitchen. She heard her muttering to herself as Claire stood in the doorway of the kitchen, thinking of a way to apologise about her brisk exit from Myrnin's lab earlier that day.

Eve turned around just as Claire took a breath to speak, holding a pan in the air and smiling widely. "Hey CB, where are the guys nowadays? It's their turn to make dinner and I could turn to cannibalism if I don't eat soon."

"I think Michael's teaching at the music store and Shane's working."

Eve sighed and grabbed a packet of spaghetti from a cupboard, "spaghetti bolognaise it is then. Hey, what did Amelie want?"

"She got us outfits for the ball," Claire said, remembering the pink and black dress and allowing a smile to grow on her face.

"Ah, hell. She isn't making me wear one of those skirt suit things she loves so much is she? I'd die in one of those."

Claire hadn't actually seen what Eve's dress was - for all she knew it might not even be a dress- she was too busy thinking of excuses for running off and abandoning her with a difficult Myrnin, and thinking of her own dress.

Before Claire could answer with a pathetic 'I don't know' Eve suddenly burst into life, her eyes beaming and hands fluttering in the air.

"Oh my god, I never thought I'd say this but Myrnin is hot. I mean really hot. Like, hotter than Adam Brody hot, and he is one hunk of hot so that's saying something."

Claire tried to get her head around the amount of hots in that sentence but ran out of time as Eve began to jabber on again, only stopping for the odd crucial breath between what must have been a paragraph of words in each sentence. "His hair is seriously amazing, if I do say so. Perfect length, not too long and not too short, about jaw length. Oh my god. And after you left he wasn't even that bad, I think he liked the company. Although once we got to the tailors he started playing up again, especially when the guy measured up his legs. As soon as he got to his crotch, I swear Myrnin jumped, like, 3 metres in the air. It was hilarious, although afterwards his complaints were a bit extreme."

Eve made a face and turned back to her heating pan, carrying on with her story from the beginning to give extra details, but Claire was preoccupied with the later part of her story.

"Wait, you took him to the tailors?" Claire didn't even know there was a tailor in town, the only shops she knew were book stores; I guess that showed a lot about her interests.

"Hell yeah. There was like, $700 in Amelie's envelope, why not splash the cash and got the whole way. Anyway if I had taken Myrnin to choose out a suit from racks, he would probably choose a neon one or something, and what would be the chance that he would put it back on the rail? Small chance. Almost as small as Oliver's dick."

Claire raised her eyebrows at Eve's use of simile - really not something she wanted to picture - and started adding herbs to the mince cooking in the pan.

"What?" Eve asked, "he's really been grating on me lately. He rang at the tailor's and started whining about work, and how I wasn't doing it and how awkward I was being. I just told him to piss off and that Amelie's needs are more important than his. I didn't know if that shut him up 'cause I hung up before he could reply."

"You had work today?" Claire felt guilt wash over her. Eve had just been shouted at by a very annoyed Oliver because she had dragged her away on an errand that was personally given to Claire. Eve just shrugged.

"Yeah. I cant see why he's being such a wanker about it though, I've been working late for the past few days, he should be grateful."

Eve shrugged again and started humming to herself as she stirred in the tomatoes, singing along to the tune playing silently in her head. Claire recognised it to be Higher and Higher by The Blackout. She didn't particularly like the song but she sang along anyway, familiar to the tune after Eve played it none stop for three days when she first discovered it.

She kept thinking about the ball as she was cooking, imagining her in her dress, Myrnin in a suit, _Shane_ in a suit…

Claire was actually started to grow excited about the ball, although now that she thought about it, it wasn't exactly a good thing. Something bad was going to happen, after all it was Morganville.

**I hope you liked it! Please read and review and be sure to read BonieWitch's story - Love from Unlikely Places, it's amazing and she's awesome! xxx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for all of the reviews! Sorry about the slow update, easter visits and all, I hope you enjoy this! And btw if any of you havent read the hunger games books yet, I really recommend them, THEY'RE AMAZING! GALE! Sorry ****J xxx**

"Ow!"

"Shhhh! Stay still!" Eve hissed as she poked a makeup brush in Claire's eye, "that wouldn't have happened if you hadn't jerked!"

Claire bit her lip and held back stinging tears as Eve layered what felt like the whole pot of eyeshadow on around her eyes. She had been sitting in the same position for over an hour now as Eve switched from foundation to blusher to mascara and brushed it over her face, but no matter how violent or uncomfortable it was, Claire couldn't help but thank Eve for the makeover. She really was her style guru.

Claire's eyes flickered around the room, trying to avoid the powder brush Eve was sweeping over her skin, and noticed her flowing dress resting on Eve's bed. A new wave of excitement washed over Claire's stomach and she couldn't wait to slip into the elegant material and step into the ball, Shane in a tux at her elbow and everyone looking gorgeous.

She could almost hear the tinkling music and babbling voices, see the dancing couples and laughing friends, smell the blood that was bound to be spilt.

Claire shook her head and concentrated on the confident strokes of Eve's brush, confused about the dark turn of her thoughts, and began tapping her finger against the side of Eve's typically black chair.

After about a minute of constant tapping Eve finally broke, "Seriously stop that, I've managed to survive over 2 years of living in a house of boys without going mad, I'm not having you being the one to break me."

"Sorry," Claire mumbled, distracting herself with picking at her already worn down nails and wiggling her leg.

After what felt like days sat in the black chair, Claire was finally allowed to stand up and look in the mirror. The girl that stared back at her was elegant and gorgeous, nothing like what Claire felt normally. Her hazel eyes were shadowed with soft pinks and a layer of mascara, her fair skin powdered and blushed to a rosy perfection and her lips coated in a dusty pink colour.

It was beautiful. Almost as beautiful as her dress.

Claire turned to her dress, fiddling with the dark beads and pink silk, itching to put it on and go; but the ball wasn't for another hour and she could hear Shane grunting in annoyance next door. Claire sighed and left Eve to cake on her own makeup - lots of eyeliner, no doubt - and knocked on Shane's door.

After a few seconds of thumping and cursing the door finally opened, revealing a disgruntled and dishevelled Shane, bow tie in hand, shirt messy and untucked and collar crumpled and sticking up. He stared humourlessly at her as she took in the state of his outfit, his face totally unimpressed.

"I _hate_ tuxedos."

Claire smiled and took the bow tie out of his hand, straightening it out and pulling the collar up so she could tie it. He remained still as she tugged it into shape and folded the collar back down, moving on the tuck in his shirt and button his cuffs.

He gripped her hands before she could move away and pulled her in for a kiss, starting gentle but ending up hot. It left Claire breathless and dizzy by the time it ended she had to shoo him off to get ready before he could pull her in for another one. He grinned and scampered back to his room to finish dressing.

Claire turned around to go back to her room when she felt the familiar tingle of a portal opening downstairs. There was only one person it could be.

Myrnin.

She plodded downstairs slowly and heard the telltale slap of flipflops on the floor, before his deep voice called out. "Claire? Do you know where my mobicular phone is? Either you have it, or Bob is a thief!" he shouted, a lot louder than he needed to, followed by a string of huffing and grunting, and occasionally even some growling.

Claire turned at the banister at the end to find Myrnin tangled in his tuxedo jacket and trying helplessly to pull it over his head whilst he balanced precariously on tip toes, somehow thinking that the extra height would help him free himself from the jacket.

She sighed and made her way over to him, tugging him down to stand flat on his feet and attempting to yank the jacket back over his head. His arms struggled in the twisted material and she had to whine at him to get him to stop as she pulled the tux back over his curls, revealing a ruffled Myrnin panting a sigh and tousling the shaggy fringe that fell across his forehead.

Claire took in the haircut as she unravelled the material and smoothed it out, all the while explaining how she didn't have his phone and that he had probably left it in an abandoned pocket somewhere and forgot about it - like the other million phones he'd lost.

Eve had cut it to about jaw length, a few of the bottom layers reaching the top of his pale neck, with more stylishly shaggy layers cut into the rest curling around his ears and over his forehead in an adorable fringe. Claire would have almost found it impossible to imagine Myrnin with a fringe a few days ago, yet now that she saw it she couldn't imagine him without. The style made him look so young, curling out at the sides in little black ringlets and waves.

Although the cut was insanely cute and made him look about Michael's age, it also made him look sleek and dangerous, dark and mysterious and a lot more like how a vampire should look.

"Wow…" Claire said, watching as he straightened out his jacket into a comfortable place.

"What?" he mumbled, fiddling with the buttons on his sleeves and fastening the jacket closed. He looked up at her with dark eyes, tugging on the bottom of his tux and waiting expectantly.

"You look…good." It was a perfectly innocent comment yet as always Myrnin took it too far.

"You should see me _without_ the tuxedo," he flashed his teeth in a cheeky grin and wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively. All Claire could do was roll her eyes.

Myrnin's eyes flickered over her and he frowned in confusion, "you aren't dressed?" Claire peered down at herself in her jeans and flannel shirt and resisted to urge to say 'isn't it obvious? Or do you think I'm going to a formal ball in denim?'. Instead she settled with "no, we still have an hour." Or did they? Claire pulled out her cell phone and checked the time frantically, noticing that wrestling with Myrnin tux had consumed 20 minutes of her precious time.

Myrnin somehow seemed to already know that as he raised and shrugged, "I suppose I'll let you get on with dressing then…unless you need any help." Again with the grin, only this time it was accompanied by a wink Claire rarely saw from Myrnin and she couldn't help but laugh. Pervy Myrnin was funny.

He ambled over to the colourful portal, growing with swirls as he conjured up the lab, as Claire leapt up the stairs, attempting three steps at a time, like Shane, and almost falling on her butt.

She swarmed into Eve's room and grabbed the dress, careful not to crumple the dress and careful not to reveal a scantily clad Eve to the rest of the Glass housemates. Claire pulled the door shut after her, briskly yelling an apology through the wood before scurrying off to her room and almost ripped her clothes off.

She couldn't wait to get into the dress, and in her haste she almost forgot the undo the zip, pulling it over her head and nearly getting as stuck as Myrnin. Now she knew how he had gotten that stuck. Only a tuxedo didn't have a zip….Myrnin will never cease to confuse her.

She gently pulled down the zip, stepping into it a lot more carefully than a few minutes ago, and pulling the straps over her shoulders. The silk hung over her body and hugged her curves softly, the lace and beading falling on top and folding around her.

She stared into the mirror at the new her for what felt like no where near enough time, before returning to Eve's room to get her hair done. In the few minutes Claire took to get dressed and stare at herself, Eve had gotten dressed and tied her hair up in a soft bun, curling the lose strands that fell around her face. She looked gorgeous and Claire could finally see her dress.

It was a long black lace dress, the front dipping low, yet the back dipping lower, stopping in a point at her waist. The material clung to her curves elegantly and started to flow out at her knees, reaching the floor and covering the wicked high heels that were lying on the floor before. Eve practically towered over Claire and to save herself from feeling even more of a midget she went to retrieve her heels from her room, dreading the thought of herself tottering about the whole night.

Eve twirled Claire hairstyle into a curlier version of her own and added another layer of lipstick to each of their lips, Eve's a bright red, and Claire's a soft pink.

They both looked gorgeous. And Claire couldn't wait to see what their boyfriends looked like.

**Hope you liked it! Please read and review xxx**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so sorry for not updating before now! I have a valid reason. My laptop broke and everything was lost. I was pretty bummed but my dad bought me a new one and its all good, so I really hope you enjoy this and its quite long so I hope that makes up for it. There are a few songs in this chapter so instead of writing them here ive put them in the actual chapter. Dedicated to Discotimelord and Bonniewitch. Enjoy!**

Claire twitched in her seat nervously as Michael's vampire tinted car wound through the small town, taking invisible corners and stopping at traffic lights Claire couldn't even see the ghost of. The world outside was black and dark, yet the sound was wicked. Music roared through the closed doors of the sedan as it descended what must have been the ramp to vampire parking, playing a mixture of different genre's that Claire vaguely recognized.

The car eased to a stop and Claire spun round to grasp the handle with her Monica-Morrell-Standard manicure to find it already being pulled open and an expectant hand hovering above her. She peered up at the man offering his hand to her and found an impatient looking Oliver in a well-groomed suit, which wasn't unlike Myrnin's, and got a tickling sense of deja vu. That had definitely happened before.

She took hold of his room temperature hand, whilst wondering if this was Oliver's job for every occasion, and rose out of the car just as Shane came round to meet her.

"I'll take it from here man," he said, snatching Claire's hand out of Oliver's grip and then adding on a unexpected "thanks."

Oliver only raised his eyebrow and stared at him, never speaking a word, which made Claire wonder if Amelie had ordered him to stay silent. That wouldn't have gone down very well; yet he seemed to be on good behaviour, if not slightly impatient.

Michael and Eve were already half way towards the elevator by the time Claire managed to totter over to them to catch up, a mocking Shane holding an arm out for her to cling on to. He was wearing a black tailored suit with silk lapels and a white shirt underneath. No tie. Claire found that acceptable to say that he was completely opposed to the idea before the party, yet Eve was a different story. By the time she had wrestled with and screeched at him to put it on - and lost - she looked like she'd wanted to strangle him with it. Violently.

Shane glanced down at Claire's hand, glued to his arm, "You're going to cut off my circulation if your grip gets any tighter, I mean, I'm all for roughness, but only in certain circumstances...if you know what I mean."

Claire slapped him on his, most likely crippled, arm, giggling at Shane's cheeky grin, and caught up to Eve and Michael, who were waiting for the elevator to arrive, whispering to each other about things that probably shouldn't have been heard by other ears. Although with vampires around who knows who might hear them.

The thick doors opened automatically and allowed them inside the enclosed space. Eve hurried to the mirrored walls, fussing with hair and makeup and humming along to the song buzzing through the floors from upstairs while Michael and Shane shared a synchronized eye roll and filed inside, Claire following behind.

The tinny not-really-music started playing through the speakers of the elevator, managing, with the help of thick metal doors, to block out most of the music from the party.

"This better not turn out like the last party Amelie held," Eve said while straightening Michael's tux, "I have a significantly less amount of stake right now, they wouldn't go with my shoes." Michael batted off her hands fluttering around his dark grey suit and held them still while he bent down to kiss her. It would have been adorably romantic, if they hadn't been stuck in a crowded elevator with two other people standing awkwardly beside them. Strangely, they didn't seem to mind and the kiss deepened to blush-worthy.

Shane cleared his throat, "Jeez guys, keep it PG rated, minor in the room, in case you haven't noticed."

They broke apart breathlessly, Micheal slightly flushed and Eve flashing a dazzling smile as an apology to Claire, before facing the doors as the elevator came to a jerking halt. The doors rolled open and let belting music flow through the small space, it wasn't quite night club loud, but it was definitely louder than the last ball they went to. The song changed just as they walked through the doors, a steady beat and electronic riff pulling bodies in a rhythm in the room before them- Not In Love, Crystal Castles ft Robert Smith.

"Bangin'." Eve said enthusiastically, already swaying to the beat echoing through the hall. Claire spotted Amelie stood at the side of the room, observing the people in front of her. As Claire looked at her she turned her elegant neck, meeting her eyes and nodding at them and then...disappearing, gone behind the bodies and dresses. "Creepy," Eve whispered, before grabbing Michael's hand and dragging him towards the alcohol table, "Come on! No way am I dancing in this dress without getting at least tipsy."

They meandered through couples and dancers, finding their way to the liquid confidence and leaving Claire and Shane next to the elevator, which was now churning out more couples. She glanced up at Shane and could tell he wanted alcohol too. "Go on, I'll find Myrnin or something, no doubt he's doing the macarena somewhere, or starting a conga line."

Claire saw his face harden slightly at the mention of Myrnin, but the call of alcohol was just too strong for him to resist. He placed a tender kiss on her pink lips and whispered, barely audibly through the music, against her ear. "Don't get yourself fanged, I don't want some bloodsucker stealing my girl." Claire had the ebbing feeling that that bloodsucker he was talking about was a certain insane boss of hers, but she didn't say anything as she watched him go.

She scanned the room for a black, curly mass of hair and then remembered about the hair cut, so changed her method to search for wherever the most trouble was. Finally, she found him amongst a group of giggling girls with scarily short dresses, making unfunny jokes and pretending to be drunker than they were. He didn't look amused, he looked bored. And slightly disgusted.

From the looks of it he had stopped listening or interacting with them a while back, and instead he was staring at the crowd opposite them and ignoring them completely, sipping his champagne as they babbled.

As soon as he saw her relief flooded over him and he gladly discarded the girls, cutting a bubbly blond off mid-sentence as he pushed through to leave, and weaved through the civilians to meet her.

"Were those blondes not your cup of tea?" Claire asked jokingly.

"Please, I've seen badgers with more physical attraction. Girls these days have no self respect, apart from you my dear, ravishing dress." He took another gulp of champagne and swiftly took another two glasses from a passing man with a tray, holding one out to her and keeping the other for himself. Claire just stared at him. "Oh come, come, girl. I know how much you liked it last time." He smiled a dimpled grin and wiggled the champagne flute in front of her, almost splashing it over a girl next to them dancing provocatively.

After hesitation Claire took the flute and sipped the bubbly liquid, grateful for the warmth of alcohol and comfort of the fuzzy feeling in her mind. She recognised hardly anyone in the crowd, an odd face stood out from seeing them in the street or in common grounds, but nobody she could interact with normally…not without getting eaten.

She searched the crowd again and got another glimpse of the town's ice queen, dressed (unsurprisingly) in a long white gown, greeting locals as they filed in through the elevator. "What are you doing over here? I thought you'd be with Amelie?"

Myrnin looked stricken, "Of course not! She's quite boring at parties, and I do love a good party. No, I'm waiting for the entertainment."

"Entertainment?"

Myrnin looked like he was about to say something else, but he didn't need to, instead he just made a little satisfied cry and pointed behind her as lights dimmed slightly and the volume stepped up a notch, changing to 'What Do You Take Me For' by Pixie Lott, not Claire's favourite, but the music choice wasn't what grabbed Claire's attention. She saw the crowd part slowly as the rapper started to sing/talk and noticed a group of girls posed in the middle, all wearing short black dresses and looking perfect. The girl at the front had styled blond hair in a bob, accentuating her petite figure and gorgeous features. The girls pulsed forward with the rhythm in a synchronized dance, stretching pale legs and shimmying their hips. The blond girl started singing as Pixie Lott came in, her own delicate but powerful voice creating a different version of the song as the girls spun and jerked in time. Lights swung around the room and the whole hall turned into a performance, the dancers were the main act.

"Jamie!"

Myrnin's voice carried over the music in a surprised shout as he saw the blond girl at the front and she winked at him as she gyrated and sang. The routine was perfect, each girl doing the same sexy movements as the next, capturing attention and hypnotising onlookers with their dancing. The blond – Jamie, apparently – belted out the chorus, the seductive undertones of her voice hard to miss. As the group glided forwards she caught Myrnin's eye next to Claire, making a subtle 'come here' with her finger. He didn't move from where he was stood watching her so she strode forward and dragged him back to her group, mouthing to him in the break as the rapper started again, 'you know what to do'.

She grinned at him and patted his back as the music changed toward the chorus. And Myrnin started dancing.

They did a ridiculous little routine, which involved a lot of hip movement and synchronized bouncing, and it was hilarious.

"I am never doing that again."

Myrnin looked flushed and slightly breathless when he reached it back to the crowd where Claire was standing, both champagne flutes in each of her hands. He grabbed both of them and downed the remnants, handing the empty glasses to another passing waiter. The song changed again, to a slightly slower one toning down the excited mood buzzing through the bodies in the hall. Jamie and her posse had left after the song, strutting back where they came from as another act took up stance on the stage Bishop had once sat on. This group were dressed in pain black clothes, no revealing dresses, and moved liquidly to Beyonce.

"Who was that?" Claire asked, still smirking at the memory of the dance.

"Hmm? Oh, that was Jamie, an old friend of mine who finds a great deal of enjoyment in humiliating me."

All Claire could do was laugh. She searched the room for any signs of Shane or Eve but came up blank, only seeing sweaty heads and bored looking vampires. She turned back to Myrnin and found him frowning at the corner with the music stand in, massive speakers and a person nodding to another.

"What's wrong?"

Myrnin just looked away, returning his attention to her. "Oh...nothing, just..." he paused, and Claire could see the cogs churning behind his dark eyes as he thought of a subject change, "Where's your dearest beau nowadays? Aren't you two inseparable?"

The change of conversation worked and Claire began to explain how she had been searching for him but she saw his attention slipping again, this time his head raised to looked at the overhead speakers, his eyes flitting between each as a new tune began playing, a classical one. (et- katy perry ft kanye west classical cover)

The babble in the room dimmed down as violins played and a space opened up in the middle of the grand floor.

Myrnin was spinning around, puzzled for some reason Claire was sure he wouldn't tell her. "...What?" Claire was beginning to get annoyed and was starting to think that she might have to punch him if he changed the subject instead of telling her again.

But all he said was, "the vampire dance."

Claire frowned and opened her mouth to say something, but stopped herself as she noticed a horde of pale men and women arranging themselves in the middle of the floor. The humans instantly backed away, making room. Myrnin reeled off to join them, taking position in the middle of the arrangement.

The vampires stood in two lines facing each other, men on one side, women on the other and as the song began to pick up pace, they moved toward each other in time with it, placing out a hand and extending it in the air an inch away from each others', slowly spinning in circles and then finally interlocking their fingers and dancing an old fashioned dance as the music got going. It reminded Claire of the dancing in 'Pride and Prejudice', where everyone knew that dance and knew who to dance with, all except Michael, who stood with Eve and the humans at the edge of the crowd.

Dresses floated around mens' legs as they swayed and pirouetted around each other, all looking abnormally elegant and beautiful in the routine. Claire noticed Amelie dancing with Oliver, who, even with a scowl on his face, managed to look graceful. Myrnin was with Jamie, who had succeeded in briskly changing into a long, flowing black dress with a plunging neckline and slit up the thigh. Lucky Myrnin.

The orchestra built up the layers, forcing out a powerful tune as they reached the chorus, and the vampires flowed between each other. It was spine-tinglingly beautiful. And terrifyingly creepy. They seemed to glide along together, hands reaching and women swirling as they intertwined and crossed over to dance with others in an orderly pattern. It was like it was an ancient song, one that every vampire knew and danced to. Like a ritual.

Claire stared, awestruck, throughout the whole thing, somehow wanting it to carry on forever so she could watch the perfect movements of the undead, but all too soon their bodies slowed, twirling to a stop in a line of couples and the music quieted to silence. The women stepped back a curtseyed, while the men took the womens' hands and bent to place a Myrnin-worthy kiss on their fingers. The hall was quiet and the air felt charged with an energy Claire couldn't comprehend. Suddenly the speakers came on again, but in place of music came a loud male voice.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you, the guests of Morganville."

**Please R&R!**


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